Boys Will Conquer
by Mirakuru Rein
Summary: AU, Highschool setting. "We rule the school. But who rules you?" Lavi is the mischief-maker of the prestigious Black Order Institution, but his dues will soon be paid. Slight LavixKanda in store for ya.
1. I: start this vicious cycle

_boys will conquer_

.x.

_miraku-ru rein-_

--

A/N: Somewhat of a departure from my usual material...hope you like it! And also, I have no knowledge of kendo/fencing whatsoever, so please correct me if I'm horribly wrong.

--

_start - this - vicious - cycle_

--

Lavi's delicate fingers traced lightly against his chin, small circles, entrapping the air between them.

"Kanda."

"What."

"I have an idea."

The Japanese boy raised an eyebrow. "I don't want to know."

Lavi laughed, like bubbles or babbles of water when it runs too quickly. Unnatural. "No, actually you do. It's got to do with…Lenalee…"

Immediately, almost like a trained dog, the reaction was created in an instant. Kanda's interest was piqued. "…what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking…we could play with her feelings for a while. I'm thinking…she's our new toy. What do _you_ think?"

--

At the Black Order Institution, mischief is a business. Lavi knows it and milks it to every drop it's got until it dries up. And so far, the influx is still going, still pumping out the profits. This is the golden age, Lavi knows. This is the time…when everything really begins here.

The Black Order Institution is a private school – boarding, in England, near the countryside in the middle of an ocean. It's highly isolated and only takes in a small handful of students to educate and raise into the future leaders of the world. And for that purpose, Lavi takes advantage of it.

He never intended to start it. No, always the pacifist he was, never hurting other people. But one day the strings broke (_snap! they all went hell-bound_) – and oh yes, did he love the smell of blood. Addiction.

--

Greed makes Lavi feel embarrassed, dirty. Only one incident would make a permanent black mark on his otherwise spotless career. He vows that he would never degrade himself to that kind of hunger ever again.

--

Kanda is a different story. Lavi finds him on his second day of school, easy to spot out. The "cooler-than-thou, don't mess with me" look. Lavi figures if he can get the boy on his side soon enough, the limits would be…well, limitless. Broken. They could rule the school. Lavi approaches him.

"Kanda Yuu."

The mentioned boy leaned against the brick wall hot with summer, but didn't look up.

"Foreign exchange student from Japan, national kendo champion, decently fluent in English, best subject – literature."

"Who the hell are you?"

Lavi smirked. He loved when his calculations provoked the desired response. "I go by the name Lavi."

"Lavi." The boy repeated it once to familiarize himself with the name, sampling it with his tongue.

"I say, let's be friends, Yuu."

The other boy shot an angry look at Lavi. "_Kanda._"

"Yuu."

"Call me that again and I'll slice your head off."

Lavi laughed a deep, guttural chuckle. "I'd like to see that."

"It'd be too fast. You'd be dead before your brain comprehends what happened."

He stepped to the side, excluding himself from the conversation. "And I hate the term 'friends.' We are not on those terms. In fact, I'd say I quite dislike you."

Lavi grimaced as he saw the figure walk away into the shadowed hallway. He was a hard, stubborn one – all the more reason to win him over, all the more pleasure the victory gains. This was a challenge – and Lavi welcomed challenges with open arms.

--

Kanda was a loner. Lavi figured he'd be – he wasn't a loser-type loner – no, more like a loner on a higher plateau. No one was quite on his level yet. For the next week after the encounter, Lavi had closely followed Kanda, almost to the point of stalking, but besides his daily schedule, this little tidbit of information – that the boy was solitary – was the only thing Lavi could find out about Kanda.

It bothered Lavi that one could hide facts about himself so easily. Lavi had a knack for remembering things – so he was very, _very _good at analyzing people and finding their habits or deepest darkest secrets. But it seemed that Kanda was better at hiding them – so good, that even to Lavi's superior eyes the boy's actions were seemingly random.

Lavi's grades started dropping drastically. He was holed up in his room every night, compiling all the notes and photos he had of Kanda Yuu, organizing them, rearranging them, trying to make sense of all the jumbled information, like it was a puzzle he wasn't sure how to put together, but knew what the final picture was supposed to be. Panda was quite upset – as both Lavi's legal guardian and a teacher at the school, he had expected Lavi to uphold his end of the deal, which was to keep up a minimum average of A-minuses by the end of each term in return for free tuition and room-and-board.

Lavi had been an orphan until around eight – but he was brilliant, and Panda saw that brilliance. Somewhere along the way, however, it got twisted and broken, in ways no one would ever figure out. Lavi was very good at covering those up, though, and Panda never suspected.

In a way, Lavi always wished maybe someone would notice something, anything was wrong with him, but no one ever did.

--

"I give up."

Kanda whipped his head around. He was on the lunch line, and to hear such a random statement out of the blue was not expected.

"…Hm?"

Lavi's spot in line happened to be behind the Japanese boy, and he shrugged in a mockingly shameful way. "You win. I give up. I can't find out anything about you."

"Since when was it a game?"

"Ever since I met you."

Kanda turned away and ordered soba noodles, like he always did.

"Yuu."

"—_don't, _call me that." Knuckles tightened around the metal edges of the tray.

"…Kanda."

He sighed. "Leave me alone."

"I can't."

"Are you that desperate for company?" Kanda questioned patronizingly.

"It's not the company…it's the _game._"

"The game of what? Finding out whatever it is you want to know about me?"

He took the plate of soba noodles and place it on his tray, moving along the line. "You're gonna lose. There isn't anything to find out about me."

Another challenge. They just kept piling up. Lavi was enjoying this, way too much for his own good. "Hey Kanda…I have a proposal for you."

"No."

"No?"

"Whatever it is, I don't want to take part in any of it."

"C'mon, it's a simple favor! I guarantee you'll like it."

Kanda slowly decreased his walking pace and reluctantly turned around. "If I do this little _favor_ for you, will you leave me alone?"

Lavi nodded earnestly. "Honest to God, I cross my heart." It amused him because he wasn't Christian.

Kanda sat down at an empty table, and Lavi followed. "Shoot, then."

"How 'bout you and me…we have a swordfight."

He nearly choked on his soba noodles. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah, you heard me. A swordfight."

Kanda looked at Lavi's thin frame dubiously. "You can't swordfight."

"Hey, don't underestimate me! So yeah, you're number one in Japan for kendo, but I…" Lavi smiled broadly. "_I _was number one for fencing…in _all of Europe._"

Kanda swallowed. "You're lying."

"I'm not."

"Prove it."

"Heheh, I _will._ If you agree to my proposal."

Kanda furrowed his eyebrows. He hated giving in to other people, but if it meant defeating the best European fencer with his sophisticated version of kendo and proving his superiority…he'd do it.

"Done."

Lavi smiled again. "Now _that's _what I like to hear."

--

They met that afternoon in the school's open training grounds, Kanda eager to get it over with. They had attracted quite a crowd – the well-respected, behaved crowds of Black Order Institution rarely got a chance to watch such a brawl, as it was common courtesy not to start fights. However, it wasn't against the rules, as long as no one was seriously injured, so an excited murmur passed through the throngs of students.

Kanda made a noise in disgust. "I didn't expect this to become a public _spectacle._"

"Relax, Kanda, at least we'll be famous now. I mean, we need it right? We're both new here."

Lavi had, in fact, spread around the news of the fight as much as he could between lunch and the end of school. The more people that knew of him, the better. And if he won the match, he'd be respected even more. There would be no downside to it at all.

Kendo and fencing were two very different styles of swordfight, so Kanda had allowed Lavi to make the necessary rules.

"We'll be fighting with épée swords and rules, meaning you can hit anywhere on the body, double hits are allowed. Any type of stroke you wanna use is fine, even with the blade, and we can start kendo-style."

He fixed his mask. They were both wearing fencing uniforms – somehow, Kanda rather preferred it anyway. The boys stood face-to-face, legs in a slight lunging position, swords crossed with each other.

"Each hit constitutes a point. We can begin anytime you want, Yuu."

He gritted his teeth – "_Kanda,_" and abruptly, the fight began. A swell of surprise rippled through the crowd – the start was sudden, unannounced.

Lavi was, admittedly, skilled in his swordfight. Kanda gritted his teeth. He was as familiar with the European swordplay as he was with Japanese kendo, and he could see regional variations in Lavi's fencing. A little French, then German – no, now it was British. His style was fluid and changed quickly depending on what was most advantageous at the moment. Kanda at once understood why Lavi called himself "number one in all of Europe" – he had probably perfected the style in each country, won the national competitions, and then moved on to the next country, repeating the exact same process. It was a bit frightening to think that he had conquered each nation with skill and ease, but Kanda was unflustered. Kendo was a superior art form. While fencing concentrated more on grace and beauty, kendo emphasized spirit. And today, Kanda felt the spirit flowing into him like sunlight bathing the early spring snow with heat.

Lavi was amused. Kanda was taking the whole thing so seriously – and Lavi had only intended it to be part of a game. Kanda was doing quite well against him – really well, in fact, almost like an equal, but he could tell that the boy was frustrated with the flawlessness of Lavi's own swordplay. It wasn't really his fault he was so good at fencing – his eyes had memorized the correct forms quickly, devoured every little detail. He only needed a week or so for his muscles to adjust, then a few more weeks of competitive experience, and then it was all exponential from there. Lavi didn't particularly care if he lost against Kanda or not, but he was quite reassured with his chances of winning.

All thought processes froze and broke for a second when point d'arrêt penetrated cloth – and time seemed to become erratically sluggish in the eyes of the beholders.

Lavi beamed at the sight of the point of his sword snagged in Kanda's uniform. "Looks like I get the first point, _Yuu._ Remember, the one with the first two points wins…"

Kanda was unperturbed. "I'm still gonna win."

"How are you so sure?"

The fighting resumed, the onslaught of attacks more rapid and accurate than they were before. Lavi was getting a bit messy. At some points, he had _only _barely managed to block some of Kanda's strokes. Kanda was returning with a vengeance.

"Getting a bit enthusiastic, aren't we?" Lavi shouted, attempting a strike at his opponent's abdomen. It hadn't worked. Kanda had seen it coming and avoided it – _avoided it – _and struck Lavi across the arm.

"It seems my first point was more easily achieved than yours," Kanda said haughtily as he traced his steps back to the starting position.

"Che, I was distracted."

"Excuses."

Both players on even ground, the next points came in the form of a double hit – both earned a point each for striking each other at the same time, and since they wouldn't settle for a tie, the person to earn the next point would win.

Lavi liked provocation. "You're never gonna win with just your one style of swordplay! You need to be flexible, like me, you need _variety._"

"Like hell I do."

"Hey, Yuu."

"_Kanda._"

"How 'bout for the last point we set a little wager?"

Kanda paused. "…What kind of wager?"

Lavi grinned and cocked his head to the side. "See, if you win the point, I'll leave you alone, forever. I won't bother you anymore. But if I win this point…you must join my ranks and become my 'friend.'"

Kanda nodded his head. "Done."

"_And…_I get to call you 'Yuu' whenever I want."

"Fine by me."

"Shake on it, then?"

"…Sure." They extended hands and shook.

The fighting resumed, each with eyes narrowed with focus.

--

What is companionship – what does it mean to be accompanied by another live, breathing human being, complete with his own quirks, irritabilities, and habits? Kanda sometimes wondered this. He had no goal in life. Life was isolation. Life was the same every day. And now his shell was being disturbed, broken by an outside source. Was he going to embrace this forceful rebirth with open hands? He hated both options.

But somehow, he suddenly to felt ready to throw everything away.

--

The blade touched Kanda's shoulder just for a brief moment, then slipped away, unsatisfied.

Lavi made a face. "You let me win, didn't you?" he muttered viciously.

"Of course I didn't."

Lavi lifted his blade a few inches. "All you had to do was beat me and I would have kept my promise and left you alone…and yet you threw away your chance…"

Kanda didn't say anything.

Lavi suddenly broke into a smile and chuckled a little. "You mystify me, Kanda Yuu. Glad to make your acquaintance, finally." He extended a hand for shaking.

Kanda took it – and felt his life melt away.

--

"So what is your brand of enterprise, Lavi? Why did you need me as an accomplice?"

They were sitting in the desolated library, stacks of books piled in a fortress, loose papers their flags of honor.

"Dear friend, did I really need a _selfish reason_ for befriending you? What if I said I needed _companionship_?"

Kanda looked down and mumbled, "Bullshit."

Lavi delicately flipped the page of his book with two light motions of his fingers. "Actually, I think you'd be quite interested in what my 'brand of enterprise' is."

Kanda raised an eyebrow.

"How interested, Yuu, are you in _ruling the school_?"

--

"Do you know what mischief is, Yuu? It is the use of pranks, taunting, to create chaos within a well-structured society. My business…is _mischief._"

"Mischief."

"Yes, mischief."

Kanda scoffed. "Elementary."

"_That's _what you think, but remember, Yuu, this is _my _kind of mischief. And the best thing is, not only is it entertaining, but in a few short days, we will rule the school like no other."

"…_Your _kind of mischief, huh?"

"Wanna see, then? Lucky you – you've arrived at the scene just in time to see me plant the very first seeds of our era."

--

"The first trick of the trade is: isolation. You've already got that part down perfectly – act like you're ahead of the pack, to good to be mixed in with the others, be intimidating and hard to approach. We will become the pariahs at the school, no one would want to be around us, but this is why everything will work out. Only _true _geniuses are pariahs, after all.

"The second trick of the trade: We start by picking a single victim. Pick anyone, it doesn't matter who. But we have to taunt him, humiliate him, make him feel inadequate, make him feel like there is something about him that we absolutely _hate_, like something that we have a special agenda against. Yet we're never upfront about it – a push here, a snide off-hand comment there. We stalk his thoughts and dreams at night; during the day, we will be his ultimate shadow. It's gonna be _torture _to him. Pretty soon his health is going to deteriorate, his face will become pale, his movements shaky, his grades will descend. People are going to ask him why he's doing so terribly. But he's not going to tell. Why? Because he feels inadequate – he doesn't want to tell others that he has something wrong with him, that he is being _picked _on, because he simply doesn't have the courage to, either because he's afraid of us or he's afraid of being made to feel even more like complete shit. That's when we approach him. Scare him. Tell him he can't tell _anyone _about us, or we'll beat him up real bad. Kill him even, I dunno. Anything to get his pants in a real fix. When we do this…only _then _he's going to tell someone about us, but only a someone like his closest friend or something, never a teacher. Get this: _the teachers will never know about us. _We'll act like perfect students in class, and students will never tell."

"I don't see how that will work."

"The beauty of the human psyche, Yuu, is that it is never rational, even when it tries to make the rational choice. He will tell, only when he feels his life is in danger, because he will want to seek refuge in a person, as humans never like to feel alone in the face of peril. But he won't tell a teacher because he has the common sense to know that if he gets us in trouble…well, there'll be hell to pay."

Kanda breathed softly. "Insane. You're insane."

"And after this initiation, the word will spread. The grapevine has an irresistible tendency to grow more tangled as it does longer. Soon stories will go around that we've killed actual students before, that we've mutilated their dead bodies and sent them home to their parents as goodbye gifts, that we've cut down entire armies. The stories get wilder, and so do our reputations.

"The last and final trick of the trade: we keep the act up. We pull pranks – they know it's us, even when there's no evidence. We spread innocent but degrading remarks – they know we hate them. We act like angels in front of the teachers and are lauded for being near-perfect – they hate us for it back. But they are afraid, and that is the reason they submit to our rule."

"Purely Machiavellian."

"Of course." He smirked.

--

The first kid was nondescript, Kanda never even remembered his face. Typical brown hair, murky-colored eyes, average stature, agreeable presence. By the end of the week they had broken him down so hard that he started crying when they proposed their death threats. Kanda almost felt a type of pity for the kid, for he would never know it was not anything personal, but that they were only using him purely for cannon fodder.

Lavi was right. By the time the next week had started, they walked down the halls together, and received quick glances, angry looks, or none at all – there apparently had been a rumor that spread saying that whoever stared directly into their eyes would receive a quick and painful slit of the throat the next day.

Lavi was ecstatic.

--

"And so we've laid our first seeds down."

"Now what? So we've got the kids to fear us, big deal."

"I have a question, Yuu."

"…What?"

Lavi leaned in closer, propping his elbows up on _The Complete Unabridged Handbook of Chemistry_. "What is it that you truly want? Something that you've always _truly _desired, from the moment you knew you were alive?"

Kanda blinked. "I have no real desires."

Lavi squinted his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"…Yes."

The redhead leaned back, sighing. "Man, you're one hell of a boring person. How am I supposed to demonstrate how to harvest the _fruits _of our labors?" He shook his head. "Whatever. Listen up.

"Like I said, mischief is a _business. _You can milk it all the way even to the last drop, and it will never run dry. You want money? Threaten a kid for it, and bam, you've got enough to buy whatever it is you want. You want future connections? It's wholly political. Approach the kid and make a diplomatic deal so that they forget you're terrorizing them, make them feel that _you're _on their side, not the other way around. You want information? Blackmail. You won't tell the entire school their deepest secret if they get dirt on somebody else. You won't even need to _know _their secret – they'll do it anyway, because they're scared. Anything you want…it's up to you."

"Like I said…I don't _want _anything."

"Fine." Lavi shrugged. "Some of us, you know, just do it for the entertainment." He opened the chemistry handbook and started flipping it through. "I, personally, do it for the money."

--

Thirst for money, Lavi knows, is never a good thing. Once it becomes excessive, it becomes greed, an uglier, nastier cousin that consumed everything, your plans, your tedious calculations. But once he thought of the empty hunger in his stomach – and how it constantly used to be there – and he never looked back.

He didn't even care if he needed or wanted it anymore, he just took it.

--

"Give it to me."

He cornered the girl, leaning over her with his arms, baring his teeth like an animal driven by pangs of raw desire.

The girl cowered, holding the money behind her. "I'll pay you another day, my parents give me anything…I just need to buy this new dress before it goes out of stock…!"

He grabbed the front her shirt and shoved her hard against the wall. "I told you I don't take late payments! Give me the damn money!"

She shook her head, and her shoulders started to tremble and tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Fucking bitch–!" He grew exasperated, and tried to wrestle her hands out from behind her back. The girl kicked and screamed, but Lavi, being physically stronger, pinned her down and grabbed her wrist.

Out of nowhere – a shriek. "What is going on here?"

Lavi slowly turned his head. _Shit. A teacher._

The girl had lied of course, saying he was a vicious maniac who wanted her body for himself. Lavi had absolutely no interest in her, and he ground his teeth when he heard her outright lies. He had never been on the receiving end of that before. He tried to tell his story, the _true _story. Being the perpetrator, no one believed _him._

He was kicked out of his school. Panda didn't talk about it, but he was distressed by the events. Finally, one day, Panda mentioned quietly to him that the school he taught at, the Black Order Institution, would be willing to take him in, despite his record, since he was unusually intelligent for his age.

Lavi had already gone through a change of eight schools, and the Black Order Institution would be his next school.

--

_(end of chapter 1)_

--

A/N:...and that's the end of Chapter 1! Hoped you enjoy, updates might take pretty long in coming as this sapped all my creative energy in one blow. Go figure.


	2. II: let the games begin

_.conquer._

_mirakuru,rein_

_--_

A/N: Well, I suddenly got inspiration / remembered this thing existed, so here's chappie 2. Sorry for being MIA for such a long time, but at least I updated, right? :D

Disclaimer: Lavi's view does not match the author's. Don't try this at home, kids.

--

_Part deux – let the games begin_

_--_

"Student council assembly?"

"Yup."

"That's rare of you to go to."

"Best to keep an eye on the enemy, I say."

"Ah."

--

"Now a statement from our Student Council President, Lenalee Lee."

She stepped up to the podium – a tall girl with long pigtails extending gracefully from her head to her waist, a radiance of importance surrounding her. Lavi rolled his eyes as he leaned on the wall next to the doors of the auditorium. What a typical school president. Nothing special at all.

"Thank you. Good morning, Black Order Institution. I would just like to address a very serious case that has been going on in the school for the last few months. Nothing has been reported to the student council or the administration as of yet, but it is a heinous enough situation that I must make note of it to everyone. Apparently there have been a few students using threats and blackmail to bully others, and although their behavior and identities are kept secret from authority figures, it is prominent enough throughout the school for the student council to have picked up on it. Obviously this type of aggressive and hurtful behavior towards other students is unacceptable and downright disgusting, and should be apprehended."

Lavi raised an eyebrow. A paragon of justice, now, was she?

"To those who are participating this distasteful behavior – let me just warn you." Her eyes seemed to find Lavi at the back of the auditorium. "I will not allow you to take advantage of innocent people at this school, and I will not stand by and watch these events unfold. Take my word for it. I will make sure you are caught and punished rightfully." Her gaze drifted back to the general crowd again. "That is all. Thank you for listening. Dismissed."

Throngs of whispering people – presumably about the public message Lenalee gave to the perpetrators – streamed through the doors, throwing a glimpse at Lavi as they passed. Lavi only smirked and didn't spare them a look. His eyes were focused on the new adversary, the one and only student council president.

Lenalee, as she walked down the aisle towards the doors, locked eyes with Lavi. She stopped shortly before the doors and turned to him.

"It's rare to see you here, Lavi-kun."

"Well, I do like to know what's going on in my school, sometimes."

She nodded curtly. "I see. Have a good day then."

He gave her a quick, two-fingered salute. "Same to you, Miss President."

Without a second glance, she walked through the doors. Lavi chuckled.

"Well, well. Let the games begin."

--

The library doors burst open, and Lavi entered with a bounce in his step. Kanda blinked and stared at him.

"You seem happy."

"A bit. You done counting the money?"

"Yeah." Kanda motioned to the stacks of bills. "Monthly revenue is a little over three hundred fifty pounds."

Lavi whistled. "Nice." He turned to Kanda. "You need me to buy you anything?"

"Nope."

"Right." Lavi began piling the bills into a small briefcase. "I have good news."

"…What is it?"

Lavi momentarily paused and looked up excitedly at Kanda. "Finally things have gotten interesting. Student council prez just announced that she was going to be our opponent."

Kanda raised an eyebrow. "Opponent meaning…?"

"Meaning she's going to hunt us down, of course, Yuu-chan!"

Kanda's eye twitched. "And why should we be happy? It's just a stupid girl."

"Yeah, but she's not just _any _stupid girl. She's one of those idealist people, you know, people who think the world should be one way when it really isn't." Lavi closed the full briefcase. "Which means she can't be easily bought. Which makes the whole game harder and so much more fun to play." He smiled at Kanda. "Don't you agree?"

"So what is your brilliant plan this time? If she's really an idealist like you say, then she won't go away easily. She'll keep coming at us until we're properly detained."

Lavi laughed, a loud and hungry laughter, which shook Kanda sometimes and made him think Lavi was inhuman. "Yuu, the wonderful thing about idealists is that if you break their view of the world…you'll break them."

"You're really scary sometimes, you know?"

"Ah...only for you."

Kanda whacked him with a paperback book. "I changed my mind. I want you to buy me some soba noodles."

--

Lenalee Lee sat at her desk in her dormitory room, legs propped up on the table, pen tapping her slightly parted lips. Her homework lay on the table in front of her, unfinished, as she scanned through the student records in the school database – something only she could access to, as her brother was the school's headmaster.

She squinted at her computer screen. "Lavi…no last name. Abandoned as a child, then adopted…expelled from seven previous schools on accounts of violence, inappropriate behavior, misconduct, the like…" She scribbled some words onto the little notepad in front of her. "IQ of 150 and above…first in the class in everything, including athletics…"

She clicked through another series of pages, then found a different file. "Kanda Yuu, of Japanese heritage. IQ of 150 and above as well, second in the class in everything, including athletics…son of…?"

The pen slipped from her fingers as she stood up and slammed her fists onto the desk. "Kanda Yuu…is really…?"

--

"We need to become the victim."

"And how is that going to help, oh wise one?"

Lavi pouted. "I'd appreciate that statement without the sarcasm, Yuu-chan."

"Bastard."

"How loving our Yuu-chan is –"

Kanda's fingers curled into a fist. "I understand what you want us to do. Get a random kid, make him go to the girl and ask her to confront us, and as a final bargaining chip, he tells her that we bullied him into asking her. But why make the process so complicated? There are easier ways to deal with her. And besides, acting like the victim won't dispel her belief that we, in fact, are the ones who are disrupting the school. It might even instigate her more and add fuel to her cause."

"Yuu, Yuu…I don't think you understand the point. In all other types of scenarios, we would most certainly have to act as the bad guys. But in this case, _she _is the perpetrator, the one making the move. _She _is the one coming to _us, _invading _our _territory, accusing _us. _Imagine what a mindset would do to a person like her. Once she understands our motives, she'll curse herself for so easily falling into our hands, but at the same time realize she has done something completely against her honor code. In this weakened state of mind, she'll back down more easily. It'll be like checkmate with two moves. Besides," he laughed softly, "It's much more fun this way."

"So you aren't interesting in turning her away at all. You just want to play with her mind."

"Well, well…" Lavi's devilish, green eyes flicked towards Kanda's. "When did Yuu-chan get so good at reading my thoughts?"

--

Palms slapped down against the mahogany desk. "Are you just telling me to ignore it?!"

"I'm just _saying,_ dear Lenalee-nee-chan, that perhaps letting the whole school know you're planning a vendetta was not a good idea."

"So? I wanted those two to know that I do not approve of their behavior. Lavi was in the audience today, so it was a perfect opportunity to address him without a personal setting."

"Was it selfless honesty telling the enemy of your intentions, or was it a selfish declaration of war?"

"_Why _are you criticizing _me_, Aniki? Shouldn't you be gung ho about apprehending them too? With all of your diatribes about an equal –"

"Another thing, Lenalee-chan. What makes you so sure that they're Lavi and Kanda Yuu? As far as I can tell, they're both respectable students. I even had the opportunity to talk with Lavi myself, when he was applying to this school, and he seemed like a very honest, smart young man. The kind of person you're describing and the person I talked to are two different people."

"But Aniki! You should have – you _know _what his record's like! He's been expelled seven times! Seven! And for most of the same concerns – don't you think it's got to do something with this?"

Komui sighed. "Lenalee-chan, I know, I know. I knew that fact full well when I accepted him into this school. But his past isn't something you can rightfully use against him, even if it is responsible for his actions now. Although our conversation was brief, the one thing I do know about Lavi is that he always has a reason to do the things he does. Besides, I rather have a liking towards the kid."

Lenalee grimaced and backed away from her brother's desk. "So your reasons for not supporting me, _Headmaster, _is that you take a liking towards this delinquent?"

"Well yeah, pretty much."

A short bleeping suddenly pierced the air like an explosion of dynamite. "Ah, it's the phone, Lenalee, sorry I –"

She had already stormed out of the room.

--

By the time it was ten o'clock on Tuesday morning, a kid had already confessed to Lenalee Lee that he was blackmailed into sending her to the library, and the Student Council President was marching over with all her might, guns loaded.

The doors swung open and she angrily strode in, pigtails bouncing with each step.

"'Bout time," Lavi murmured. He settled down in his favorite armchair. That's right – he could fight this entire battle sitting down. It was all too easy.

"You." She pointed at him with a shaky finger. "You horrible person."

"Why, whatever do you mean, dear President?"

"You know what I mean. Is this your kind of idea of a joke? Or perhaps a prodding at my side?"

"What are you getting all up in arms about? I merely wanted to talk this out like the civil people we are."

"Alright fine, let's make this civil. What do you have to say about your actions, huh? Or the rumours and accusations flying all over the school about the two bullies lying in wait in the shadows? Names are never mentioned in the reports, but it's very clear who they are all referring to."

"Lenalee. You must understand, these are, as you have said, all rumours and accusations. Please see that these are only the jealous outcries of students who have been longer at this school than we have, yet Kanda and I have risen to the topmost echelon of every possible subject. First-class grades, extraordinary athletic ability, not to mention all the teachers love us."

"You are full of bullshit."

"Language, dear President, language. And may I ask you, who was the one who decided to intrude upon our territory in the first place? Eh?"

"I've seen through your ruse, and I refuse to be affected by it."

"Do as you like, but doesn't it go against your morals –"

"I really don't care about morals anymore, if that's what it means to take you two down."

Lavi was taken aback. "Well, then. But there is something called playing by the rules, you know."

She turned to Kanda. "And you, Kanda Yuu. I didn't expect the heir of such a prestigious family to be conniving and hobnobbing with this sort of…bastard. You've really sunk to low standards."

Kanda's eyebrows narrowed and his fists started clenching with an unhealthy strength.

"Yuu-chan?"

Kanda merely glared. "Well," Lenalee said, "seems like I made an impression on one of you. Good day." She turned her heel and left without much flourish.

"Hmph. What a miscalculation. I thought she was an idealist, but she can be _that _type of scary person as well." He stood up and brushed off his pants. "Yuu?"

"…What?" he said through clenched teeth.

"Wow, was what she said really that offensive?" Lavi chuckled. "Don't worry about it. She'll pay for what she did to you. Doubly." His finger stroked his chin gently.

"Kanda."

"What."

"I have an idea."

"I don't want to know."

He let out a chortling laugh. "Actually, you do."

--

Lavi called this the comeback battle.

"Yuu, how fast can you spread a rumour?"

"Rumours?"

"Yeah, you heard that prissy little girl. Saying there are rumours and whatnot about us…"

"As there should be, didn't we spread those ourselves?"

"I'm thinking we should counteract those rumours with something else. With rumours about…our beloved school president."

"Destroy her reputation."

"Not only that. She doesn't realize what monster she's provoked. She doesn't realize that most humans are spineless cowards, and given the choice, would rather side with the dragon than the knight if it's death they fear…"

"True. We do have the delicate blackmail and bribery network, after all."

"Let's utilize it. Counterstrike number one."

--

On Wednesday morning, when Lenalee stepped into the classroom, she noticed something in the atmosphere was completely different from the day before. There were whispers, and everyone eyed her in a certain, something that she couldn't pick up on but knew was wrong.

All through the morning she was baffled by the uneasiness, but come lunchtime all was solved.

"Lenalee-san! Lenalee-san!" Her vice president came hurtling up to her like the building had fallen to pieces, like a disaster was occurring.

"What is it, Mitsuko?"

"Oh, Lenalee-san, someone spread some horrible rumours about you!"

"…Rumours?" She had an inkling, but didn't want to say it.

"Yeah, I heard some about how you had a twin brother locked up at home in a cage, how you torture kittens, even one about how at night you engage in…" She blushed bright red. "…prostitution. I-in any case, there are a lot more, and they're getting out of control!"

"Che. Lavi did this."

"H-how is this possible? You only met with him yesterday…"

"No, that sort of impossibility is something only Lavi has the ability to overcome."

"There's something else…"

"What is it?"

"Well…there are some people going around saying that you're not fit for president and trying to convince everyone…"

"That…son of a bitch."

--

By mid-afternoon, there were a throng of protestors in the courtyard ("Impeach Lenalee! Coup d'etat!") and she had received numerous death threats in the form of notes or scribbled over her desk.

"Ah, Miss President, how's your day going?" The worst timing and the voice she hated and detested the most. She whirled around and gave her sweetest smile.

"Lavi-_kun,_ I'm doing fine, as you can see."

"Seems the kids are treating you badly. You want me to take care of them?"

"No, I'm fine. I have a certain amount of dignity that doesn't allow these _childish _pranks to get to me, you know. If I let this sort of thing bother me, I can't call myself a competent Student Council President, now can I? Good day."

"Good day." Amidst the student body's collective stares, she walked through them without much thought.

"How is it going?" Kanda adroitly appeared at Lavi's side seemingly out of thin air. Lavi was used to this by now, he didn't even as so much flinch.

"What a persistent bitch, really."

"Time for counterstrike two, I guess."

"Yes."

--

_Meet us in front of your locker at 8PM._

That was all the note said. No sender, no handwriting, not even excess words about how she was hated. She had assumed it was Lavi and Kanda, to give an ultimatum of some sort, largely because this was just their style to do so.

Instead she had met up with a group of disgruntled delinquents who weren't ready to talk but to do quite the opposite – that is, beat her up.

She avoided another swing of the bat. "Can't you at least tell me why you're doing this?"

"Why do we need a Student Council President anyway? All you do is cause trouble for us! You only listen to those sniveling weaklings…" She dodged a barrage of punches, then ducked a roundhouse kick.

She was talented at martial arts, but not talented enough to take on thirty angry people out for your blood, really. _Shit, at this point, I'm gonna get murdered…_

"I'll listen to you all! Really, I will. Just please stop this madness –"

"Did you just say…please stop?" As she held back two assailants at the same time, she quickly spun her head in the direction of the voice. A mere silhouette leaning against the lockers, but the trademark crazy hair – it was Lavi.

"Yes, goddammit, I did. What's it to you?" She threw them back and parried another blow.

"Ah, I see. As Student Council President you cannot lay a hand on another student, or else your job will really be in danger." He stood up straight, shoved his hands in his pockets, and stood directly behind her. "If you want it to stop, get down on your knees and beg for your life."

"Never." She was flung back a little but still held her ground. The one thing she didn't see, however, was a fist that connected with her stomach, and she crumbled to her feet.

"You've got the first part down. Now beg. I'm completely serious."

"Lavi…I hate you." One guy kicked her in the face and another started landing punches. She was starting to lose consciousness.

The shadows sighed. "You really are one inconvenient person, you know? But I guess it can't be helped." He grabbed the wrist of the one assaulting Lenalee and sidestepped in front of her. "Playtime's over, boys."

"But boss, you said to beat her up…"

He twisted the other one's arm in an impossible direction, and he screamed in pain.

"I said…it's over." He heaved the punk, now with a sprained wrist, into his friend's arms. "Get lost."

They all but scrambled away, knowing his strength. Lavi bent down and stroked the hair out of her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Don't touch me." Uncontrollably, her breath became hitched and tears rolled out of her eyes.

"It's a bit fitting, isn't it? The one who gave the battle cry in the first place…should be the one to cry in the end."

"How could you do this to me." It wasn't even a question of "why" anymore.

"Personally, in my eyes, what you did to Kanda was much worse. You knew, the details of his family affairs are in his records, and you read them. You should know how much Kanda hates his family, and the guilt he feels now that they are all dead. Now we're even."

She brusquely stood up, wiping her face, and Lavi stood up alongside her. "You're evil. You're a monster."

"Hurling these hurtful words towards your savior? You should be grateful, Miss President, I may very well have saved your life. Who knows what they would've done with you?"

"You were the one who made them –"

"And that's exactly why you shouldn't play around with us." He leaned towards her face. "I can give, but I can also take. Don't forget that we are the puppeteers at this school and we've got everyone dangling on our strings, including you. Play by our rules and we won't cause any trouble that we shouldn't. But interfere again and I will make sure there is chaos every day, every night, and by the time you catch us at it, no one will want to hear you out anymore."

Lenalee was seething. Lavi smirked. He could tell she wasn't one to back down, and his choice made it difficult for her to figure out what to say next.

"Just…"

"Yes?"

She looked up at Lavi fiercely. "Just tell me one thing, and perhaps I'll consider leaving you two alone. Why are you doing this? Why all the underhandedness? Why do you enjoy making others suffer and do your bidding?"

Lavi laughed. "It's very simple, Miss President, I'm surprised you haven't figured it all out already, given your perceptiveness. Well, I'll say it in simple layman's terms." He stood up and brushed himself off. "Power…and money. Those are the only two things that matter to me, and I'll use whatever means I can to achieve them. You'll have to learn that I always get what I want. Are you satisfied now…Miss President?"

"I knew it. You're horrible. You're…" Her fists clenched even tighter.

"So…is it safe to say that we've won this round, if not the entire game? Your defeat was determined from the moment you bothered Yuu at the library. Don't you agree?"

Lenalee slowly lifted her finger and jabbed it at his face. "I'll find a way. As Student Council President, I'll find some way to make sure you're punished!"

She started to walk away, but Lavi disrupted her with a low voice. "And who made you _God_?"

She turned around. "Excuse me?"

"Who made you the one to decide that we were to be punished? Are you God? Do you enjoy dealing out punishments like some divine overseer? Has your position perhaps gone to your head?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I don't –"

"Lenalee Lee, you are not God. You are merely something that has lost to a chess piece that simply made the better move over yourself. There is no good or evil in this game." Lavi turned to walk away. "There are only winners and losers, and it all depends on what side you're on that determines your view on life."

His figure disappeared into the shadows around the corner. "Which will you be, Miss President?"

--

_fin_

_--_

A/N: Whew, Lavi got a little out of control there. Hope you guys don't hate him now…and I suck at writing fight scenes, so excuse that horribleness. But get psyched for the next chapter, which will be even more intense (and hopefully will be coming out soon .) because Allen Walker makes an appearance! At least I can promise that much. :D

Some notes before I leave:

-"Are you God?" – famous rant from Cuckoo's Nest (the book and play, I can't remember if it was in the movie or not.)

-"a little over three hundred fifty pounds." – Around 700 USD. They're fricking loaded.

-Haha, I just imagine that Lavi is the type of person that Komui would get along with, especially this Lavi. He'd be recruiting him to get him out of work and whatnot. xD

-Well, all in all, hope you liked it / it made sense. See you all next time.


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